Science

The New York Times reports: Researchers who have examined the genomes of two coronavirus infections in Washington State say the similarities between the cases suggest that the virus may have been spreading in the state for weeks. Washington had the United States’ first confirmed case of coronavirus, announced by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Jan. 20. Based …

The Insider reports: The coronavirus has now reached every continent on earth except for Antarctica after Brazil confirmed its first case. On Tuesday, Brazil’s ministry of health confirmed that a man in São Paulo had tested positive for COVID-19, according to Reuters. The 61-year-old male returned to São Paulo from Lombardy, Italy, on February 21, the ministry said. He had …

The Washington Post reports: Health officials are warning that the spread of coronavirus in the United States appears inevitable. The comments were made in separate briefings to lawmakers and reporters on Tuesday, marking an escalation in tone and urgency. “Ultimately we expect we will see community spread in the United States,” Nancy Messonnier, a top official at the Centers for …

CNBC reports: The White House said Tuesday that President Donald Trump was referring to Ebola — not the deadly coronavirus — when he claimed that “we’re very close to a vaccine,” Dow Jones reported. Trump discussed the fast-spreading virus, which has killed more than 2,700 people and infected tens of thousands more, at a press conference during a state visit …

Politico reports: The White House will soon ask Congress for emergency funds to fight the coronavirus outbreak, after weeks of hesitation by the administration to press for additional funding, said four individuals with knowledge of the pending request. However, the amount could be significantly lower than some public health officials have argued is necessary — potentially as little as $1 …

The BBC reports: A US daredevil pilot has been killed during an attempted launch of a homemade rocket in the Californian desert. “Mad” Mike Hughes, 64, crash-landed his steam-powered rocket shortly after take-off near Barstow on Saturday. A video on social media shows a rocket being fired into the sky before plummeting to the ground nearby. Hughes was well-known for …

“OK, I’m going to address this one last time. Viruses, a lot of viruses have what are called hyper variable regions. This helps the virus find a new host, it’s a survival advantage. Everybody’s looked at these sequences. “If there was something definitely there, there’d be a rash of scientists speaking out about it. There’s not a rash of scientists …

The Military Times reports: U.S. Northern Command is executing plans to prepare for a potential pandemic of the novel coronavirus, now called COVID19, according to Navy and Marine Corps service-wide messages issued this week. An executive order issued by the Joint Staff and approved by Defense Secretary Mark Esper this month directed Northern Command and geographic combatant commanders to initiate …

From the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration: In the span of 141 years of climate records, there has never been a warmer January than last month, according to scientists at NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information. What’s more, the temperature departure from average was the highest monthly departure ever recorded without an El Niño present in the tropical Pacific Ocean. …

NBC News reports: China’s Hubei province, the center of the coronavirus outbreak, reported a stark rise in the number of new cases Thursday, dashing hopes that the epidemic may have been slowing down. Health officials in Hubei reported 14,840 new cases, most of them in Wuhan. The province also said another 242 people had died from the coronavirus Wednesday, bringing …

NBC News reports: The new coronavirus that’s sickened more than 42,000 people in China now has an official name: COVID-19. It stands for the coronavirus disease that was discovered in 2019. The World Health Organization announced the name Tuesday, saying it was careful to find a name without stigma. “We had to find a name that did not refer to …

Bloomberg News reports: The 2,257 passengers and crew onboard the Westerdam luxury liner are in limbo once again after Thailand became the latest country to turn the ship away from its ports, leaving guests desperate to disembark after almost two weeks at sea. Fearing that some passengers aboard the Westerdam may be infected with the deadly new coronavirus, Thailand’s Public …

The Washington Post reports: Eleven Americans are among 66 additional people on board the Diamond Princess who have tested positive for the new coronavirus, the cruise ship operator said Monday. The latest results bring to 136 the number of passengers and crew who have tested positive for the virus, not including a former passenger from Hong Kong who is thought …

The New York Times reports: The Chinese government has announced a temporary name for the illness caused by the coronavirus, ordering the local authorities and state news media to adopt it. In English, it will be called NCP, for novel coronavirus pneumonia, the National Health Commission said on Saturday. The naming of viral illnesses is a complicated matter that involves …

CBS News reports: Chinese Ambassador to the United States Cui Tiankai rebuked claims about the origins of the coronavirus, calling any theories it is linked to biological weapons research “absolutely crazy” and warning such allegations could stir up racial discrimination and xenophobia. Cui was responding to an assertion from Republican Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas, who tweeted that Wuhan, the …

Reuters reports: Royal Caribbean Cruises issued a statement on Friday saying: “Any guest or crewmen traveling from, to, or through mainland China, Hong Kong or Macau less than 15 days prior to their sailing will be unable to board any of our ships.” But it did not stop there. It also said, “Any guests holding a Chinese, Hong Kong or …

The Washington Post reports: Just days after the earth saw its warmest January on record, Antarctica has broken its warmest temperature ever recorded. A reading of 65 degrees was taken at Esperanza Base along Antarctica’s Trinity Peninsula on Thursday, making it the ordinarily frigid continent’s highest measured temperature in history. The Argentine research base is on the northern tip of …

NBC News reports: Facebook groups that routinely traffic in anti-vaccination propaganda have become a resource for people seeking out a wide variety of medical information — including about the ongoing flu season. One recent post came from the mother of a 4-year-old Colorado boy who died from the flu this week. In it, she consulted group members while noting that …

From a statement by the National Institutes of Health: The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, has stopped administration of vaccinations in its HVTN 702 clinical trial of an investigational HIV vaccine. This action was taken because an independent data and safety monitoring board (DSMB) found during an interim review that …

The Associated Press reports: China’s death toll from a new virus rose to 259 on Saturday and a World Health Organization official said other governments need to prepare for “domestic outbreak control” if the disease spreads in their countries. The number of confirmed cases in China rose to 11,791, surpassing the number in the 2002-03 outbreak of SARS, or Severe …